Christmas Kiss
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: The Christmas of fifth grade, Arnold finds a classmate pacing outside the boarding house. The poor little rich girl of PS118 has a secret, and the one thing she wants for Christmas is hanging above the boarding house doorway...one-sided Rhonda/Arnold, hints of Arnold/Helga in there of course. Please R&R, and Merry Christmas!


**A/N: Well, guys, Christmas is almost here, and I wanted to write something special before I go to Melbourne tomorrow. I've been kicking around the idea of Arnold/Rhonda for ages, so I decided to write a little tribute to them. And oh, there is a hint of Arnold/Helga hinted in here too. So please enjoy my Christmas present to you readers!**

**Disclaimer: Craig Bartlett owns the characters. I only own the story. Oh, and this takes place in fifth grade, but just pretend that San Lorenzo happened after the Christmas of fifth grade. This is the Christmas AFTER "Arnold's Christmas".**

She paced up and down in the shallow snow, her boots treading the snow so it gave way to the paving beneath. Despite the real fur scarf and coat she was wearing, she shivered, staring up at the window she paced beside.

Suddenly, she froze as a face looked out of the window. She ducked her head shyly, her dark hair obscuring her face. Why had she come here again? "_Oh yes, because Mommy's out at a Christmas party and Daddy's making business deals and I'm a poor little rich girl with no one to talk to." _she thought bitterly. "_But why do I bother? With all the choice he's got, why would he ever look twice at me? I know for certain I'm not even his type."_

The door opened, and the same face from the window looked out at her. "Rhonda?"

The ten-year-old looked up, her hazel eyes wide. "Arnold!" she exclaimed. "Um. Hi."

"Are you okay?" Arnold asked, the usual concern for a friend in his voice. "I was wondering why you weren't at home. It's Christmas Eve."

"Well yes, I suppose it is," Rhonda began babbling, the way she always did when she was nervous. "Well, you see, I was on my own at home, and I thought, well, that I'd just wander around for a bit, you know, I mean...look, Arnold, can I come in? I'm frozen and I've been wandering around for hours."

"Um, well. Sure." Arnold said. Rhonda stepped into the hall of the boarding house, surveying the place where she had, briefly, lived when her family had gone broke back in fourth grade. It hadn't changed much. She winced at the sound coming from some of the rooms. The boarding house wasn't exactly sound-proof.

Arnold noticed her grimace and subtly led her up to his room wordlessly.

"Thanks." Rhonda muttered. Arnold had never seen the popular princess look the way she was. She looked almost...shy. She was never shy, always confident. Sometimes it seemed like she wasn't scared of anything, that she had everything in the world, and there was no way she'd let anyone take that away from her. She'd only ever seemed to lose that air when she was really desperate for a way out of a situation.

"Is something wrong?" Arnold asked quietly as Rhonda perched herself on the edge of the couch.

"No, of course not!" Rhonda said quickly. Too quickly. She sighed. "Not really, I suppose." she said. "I'm just...I don't have anyone to talk to, so I was trying to collect my thoughts while I was out, but I ended up here." At that moment, it was like the wall Rhonda's innermost thoughts had crumbled to the ground, because suddenly they were spilling out of her.

"So maybe I was heading here the whole time, I don't know!" The confused look on Arnold's face made her want to vent more. "What, you don't understand? Haven't you ever wondered why I even talk to you, why I care what you think of me, why I take care over what I say to you, why I put you on my cool list last year – I know you were surprised about that, don't deny it. But I didn't want anyone to know." Her eyes were shimmering.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked in the understanding voice he often used when someone confided that they needed help, or that they were scared.

"I..." Rhonda found it really hard to force the words out. "I...I mean that..." Finally, she said each word as one. "Ilikeyoulikeyou." she said, only just loud enough for him to hear.

Arnold took a moment before he understood what she had said. His eyes grew wide. "You..."

"You heard me, Arnold!" Rhonda cried, the words again flooding out of her. "I've had a crush on you since third grade, but you've never looked at me that way. I kept it a secret all through fourth grade and now we're halfway through fifth grade and you might've gotten over Lila, but don't think I don't notice the way you look at Helga, the way I wish you'd look at me!"

Arnold opened his mouth to speak, but Rhonda cut him off. "No, I'm not finished! And I don't want to hear you reject me the way I know you're going to!" A small voice in the dark recesses of her brain told her she was overreacting, but she couldn't stop. "I suppose I understand. After all, what have I ever done for you apart from ask you to my parties and go to you for advice? And I know everyone thinks I'm cold and cruel, but I am capable of caring about someone other than myself." Rhonda finally finished, drawing breath again.

This was a lot to take in, especially for someone like Arnold. He'd been scared enough on the rooftop of FTI when Helga had hysterically admitted to stalking him and building a shrine and writing poetry. How was he meant to take it when he was up in his room and Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd, the coolest girl in school, was telling him that she had a crush on him?

A soft sound jolted Arnold out of his thoughts, and he looked over. Rhonda was sobbing into her hands now. He could see from what he could see of her face that she wasn't crying, just sobbing. He felt the pull to comfort her, and when he put his arm around her shoulders, he could feel her shaking.

He waited until Rhonda had calmed down. She finally met his green eyes. "Thanks for listening to me." she said quietly. "I couldn't stand keeping it a secret a minute longer. And don't worry, you don't have to give me an answer. I know you don't like me like me. We can still be friends, right?"

Arnold gave her a warm smile, relieved that she was letting him get out of answering her. "Sure, Rhonda."

Rhonda smiled wanly. "Well, I really should be going."

Arnold did walk Rhonda as far as the door. But then, Rhonda looked up, noticing something she hadn't noticed when she walked in. "Is that mistletoe?" she asked.

"Yes, we always-" Arnold began without thinking. Before he could say anything more, Rhonda's lips were on his. Half of him wanted to protest, but the other half wanted to enjoy it.

This wasn't like the times Helga had kissed him. He'd liked the way she'd kissed him, although he'd been a little scared each time. She was always passionate, and took her time. Rhonda's kiss was softer, sweeter, safer, more innocent. When she broke away, he wasn't scared of it, and they both knew that it wouldn't happen again.

Rhonda stepped back into the snow. "Merry Christmas, Arnold." she smiled genuinely before she left the stoop and disappeared into the darkness.

Arnold waited until she was out of sight, before he whispered "Merry Christmas, Rhonda."

**So, what did you think? You know what would be a good idea to do for me as a Christmas present? REVIEW!**


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